Green Party of the United States

Green Party
Chairperson Green National Committee
Founded April 1991 (1991-04)
Split from Greens/Green Party USA
Preceded by Association of State Green Parties
Headquarters 6411 Orchard Avenue, Suite 101
Takoma Park, Maryland 20912
Newspaper Green Pages
Youth wing Young Greens
Women's wing National Women's Caucus
LGBT wing Lavender Greens
Latino wing Latino Caucus
Black wing Black Caucus
Membership (July 2017) 258,683[1]
Ideology Green politics
Anti-capitalism[2]
Market socialism[3]
Decentralization[4]
Eco-socialism
Non-interventionism[5]
Political position Left-wing[6][7]
International affiliation Global Greens
Continental affiliation Federation of the Green Parties of the Americas
Colors      Green
Seats in the Senate
0 / 100
Seats in the House
0 / 435
Governorships
0 / 50
State Upper House Seats
0 / 1,972
State Lower House Seats
0 / 5,411
Territorial Governorships
0 / 6
Territorial Upper Chamber Seats
0 / 97
Territorial Lower Chamber Seats
0 / 91
Other elected offices 136 (2017)[8]
Website
www.gp.org
Part of a series on
Green politics

The Green Party of the United States (GPUS or Greens) is a green political party in the United States.[9]

The party, which is the country's fourth-largest by membership, promotes environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice, participatory grassroots democracy, gender equality, LGBT rights, anti-war and anti-racism. On the political spectrum the party is generally seen as left-wing, and in 2016 officially self-described as an anti-capitalist party.[2]

The GPUS was founded in 2001 as the evolution of the Association of State Green Parties (ASGP), which was formed in 1996.[10] After its founding, the GPUS soon became the primary national green organization in the country, eclipsing the Greens/Green Party USA (G/GPUSA), which formed in 1991 out of the Green Committees of Correspondence (CoC), a collection of local green groups active since 1984.[11] The ASGP had increasingly distanced itself from the G/GPUSA in the late 1990s.[12]

The Greens gained widespread public attention during the 2000 presidential election, when the ticket composed of Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke won 2.7% of the popular vote. Nader was vilified by many Democrats and even some Greens, who accused him of spoiling the election for Al Gore, the Democratic candidate.[13] The degree of Nader's impact on the 2000 election remains controversial.[14][15]

The GPUS had several members elected in state legislatures, including in California, Maine and Arkansas. A number of Greens around the United States hold positions on the municipal level, including on school boards, city councils and as mayors.

History

Early years

The political movement that began in 1985 as the decentralized Committees of Correspondence[16] evolved into a more centralized structure by 1990, opening a national clearinghouse, and forming governing bodies, bylaws, and a platform as the Green Committees of Correspondence (GCoC), and by 1990, simply, The Greens. The organization conducted grassroots organizing efforts, educational activities, and electoral campaigns.

Internal divisions arose between members who saw electoral politics as ultimately corrupting and supported the notion of an "anti-party party" formed by Petra Kelly and other leaders of Die Grünen in Germany,[17] vs. those who saw electoral strategies as a crucial engine of social change. A struggle for the direction of the organization culminated a "compromise agreement," ratified in 1990 at the Greens National Congress in Elkins, West Virginia – in which both strategies would be accommodated within the same 527 political organization renamed the Greens/Green Party USA (G/GPUSA). The G/GPUSA was recognized by the FEC as a national political party in 1991.

The compromise agreement subsequently collapsed and two Green party organizations have co-existed in the United States since. The Green Politics Network was organized in 1990 and The National Association of Statewide Green Parties formed by 1994. Divisions between those pressing to break onto the national political stage and those aiming to grow roots at the local level continued to widen during the 1990s. The Association of State Green Parties (ASGP) encouraged and backed Nader's presidential runs in 1996 and 2000. By 2001, the push to separate electoral activity from the G/GPUSA issue-based organizing led to the Boston Proposal and subsequent rise of the Green Party of the United States. The G/GPUSA lost most of its affiliates in the following months, and dropped its FEC national party status in 2005.

In 2016, Mark Salazar set a new record for a Green Party nominee for U.S. Congress. Running in the Arizona 8th district, against incumbent Republican Congressman Trent Franks, Salazar received 93,954 votes or 31.43%.[18]

Ideology

The GPUS follows the ideals of green politics, which are based on the Four Pillars of the Green Party: Ecological wisdom, Social justice, Grassroots democracy and Nonviolence. The "Ten Key Values,"[19] which expand upon the four pillars, are as follows:

  1. Grassroots democracy
  2. Social justice
  3. Ecological wisdom
  4. Nonviolence
  5. Decentralization
  6. Community-based economics
  7. Women's rights
  8. Respect for diversity
  9. Global responsibility
  10. Future focus

Peter Camejo quoted in 2002 as claiming that he was a watermelon—green on the outside but red on the inside—[20] in January 2004 initiated the Avocado Declaration, which compares Greens to avocados. "An avocado is Green on the outside and Green on the inside."[21] It goes on to explain that Greens have a vital role in bringing Democracy to the otherwise undemocratic two party system of the U.S., that the Greens have a unique and independent identity as a third party that cannot be subsumed into the Republican or Democratic parties and they cannot be dismissed by the Republicans or Democratic Party critics by inferring they are merely socialists or communists.

The Green Party does not accept donations from corporations, political action committees (PACs), 527(c) organizations or soft money. The party's platforms and rhetoric harshly criticize any corporate influence and control over government, media, and society at large.[22]

Structure and composition

Committees

The Green Party has two national committees recognized by the Federal Election Commission:

Green National Committee

The GNC is composed of delegates elected by affiliated state parties. The state parties also appoint delegates to serve on the various standing committees of the GNC. The National Committee elects a Steering Committee of seven Co-chairs, a Secretary and a Treasurer, to oversee daily operations. The National Committee performs most of its business online, but also holds an Annual National Meeting to conduct business in person.

Caucuses

Five Identity Caucuses have achieved representation on the GNC:

Other caucuses have worked toward formal recognition by the GNC:

Geographic distribution

The Green Party has its strongest popular support on the Pacific Coast, Upper Great Lakes, and Northeast, as reflected in the geographical distribution of Green candidates elected.[31] Californians have elected 55 of the 226 office-holding Greens nationwide as of June 2007. Other states with high numbers of Green elected officials include Pennsylvania (31), Wisconsin (23), Massachusetts (18), and Maine (17). Maine has the highest per capita number of Green elected officials in the country, and the largest Green registration percentage with more than 29,273 Greens comprising 2.95% of the electorate as of November 2006.[32] Madison, Wisconsin, is the city with the most Green elected officials (8) followed by Portland, Maine (7).

In 2005, the Green Party had 305,000 registered members in states allowing party registration, and tens of thousands of members and contributors in the rest of the country.[33] One challenge that the Green Party (as well as other third parties) faces is the difficulty of overcoming ballot access laws in many states.

State and District of Columbia parties

The following is a list of accredited state parties which comprise the Green Party of the United States.[34]

In addition, the Green Party has a chapter in the US Virgin Islands.[35] The Green Party does not currently have active state chapters in The Dakotas, Utah, or Vermont.

Office holders

Musician Jello Biafra ran for several offices with the Green Party, including for President in 2000.
Malik Rahim, former Black Panther Party activist, ran for the U.S. Congress in 2008 with the Green Party.
Psychiatrist Joel Kovel ran for the Green Party's presidential nomination in 2000.
2012 and 2016 Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein

As of October 2016, 143 officeholders in the United States were affiliated with the Green Party, the majority of them in California, several in Illinois, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, with five or fewer in ten other states.[36] These included one mayor and one deputy mayor, and fourteen county or city commissioners (or equivalent). The remainder were members of school boards, clerks, and other local administrative bodies and positions.[36]

Several Green Party members have been elected to state-level office, though not always as affiliates of the party. John Eder was elected to the Maine House of Representatives, re-elected in 2004, but defeated in 2006. Audie Bock was elected to the California State Assembly in 1999, but switched her registration to Independent seven months later[37] running as such in the 2000 election.[38] Richard Carroll was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2008, but switched parties to become a Democrat five months after his election.[39] Fredrick Smith was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2012,[40] but re-registered as a Democrat in 2014.[41] In 2010, former Green Party leader Ben Chipman was elected to the Maine House of Representatives as an unenrolled candidate, and was re-elected in 2012 and 2014.[42]

Gayle McLaughlin was twice elected mayor of Richmond, California, defeating two Democrats in 2006,[43] and reelected in 2010, and elected to City Council in 2014 after completing her second term as mayor.[44] With a population of over 100,000 people, it was the largest US city with a Green mayor. Fairfax, California; Arcata, California; Sebastopol, California; and New Paltz, New York are the only towns in the United States to have had a Green Party majority in their town councils. Twin Ridges Elementary in Nevada County, California held the first Green Party majority school board in the United States.[45]

No nominee of the Green Party has been elected to office in the federal government.

List of national conventions and annual meetings

The Green National Convention is scheduled in presidential election years, and the Annual National Meeting is scheduled in other years. The Green National Committee conducts business online between these in person meetings.

Presidential ballot access

    2004 2008 2012 2016
Electoral votes 267 (479) 368 (528) 439 (489) 494 (522)[46][47]
History of ballot access by location:
# Alabama Not on ballot On ballot
# Alaska On ballot Not on ballot On ballot
# Arizona Not on ballot On ballot
# Arkansas Not on ballot On ballot
# California On ballot
# Colorado On ballot
# Connecticut On ballot (write-in) On ballot
# Delaware On ballot
# Florida On ballot
# Georgia (write-in)
# Hawaii On ballot
# Idaho (write-in) On ballot
# Illinois Not on ballot On ballot
# Indiana (write-in) Not on ballot (write-in)
# Iowa On ballot
# Kansas (write-in) On ballot[48]
# Kentucky Not on ballot On ballot
# Louisiana On ballot
# Maine On ballot
# Maryland On ballot
# Massachusetts On ballot
# Michigan On ballot
# Minnesota On ballot
# Mississippi On ballot
# Missouri Not on ballot (write-in) Not on ballot On ballot[49]
# Montana On ballot (write-in) Not on ballot On ballot
# Nebraska Not on ballot On ballot Not on ballot On ballot
# Nevada On ballot Not on ballot
# New Hampshire Not on ballot On ballot
# New Jersey On ballot[48]
# New Mexico On ballot
# New York (write-in) On ballot
# North Carolina Not on ballot (write-in) Not on ballot (write-in)
# North Dakota Not on ballot On ballot
# Ohio Not on ballot On ballot
# Oklahoma Not on ballot
# Oregon On ballot
# Pennsylvania On ballot
# Rhode Island On ballot [50]
# South Carolina On ballot
# South Dakota Not on ballot[48]
# Tennessee On ballot
# Texas (write-in) On ballot
# Utah On ballot
# Vermont Not on ballot On ballot
# Virginia (write-in) Not on ballot[48] On ballot
# Washington On ballot
# West Virginia Not on ballot[48] On ballot
# Wisconsin (write-in) On ballot
# Wyoming Not on ballot On ballot
# – District of Columbia Not on ballot On ballot Not on ballot[48] On ballot

Electoral results

President and Vice President

Election year Candidate Running mate # of overall votes % of overall vote # of electoral votes +/-
1996 Ralph Nader Winona LaDuke 684,871 0.71
0 / 538
2000 Ralph Nader Winona LaDuke 2,882,955 2.74
0 / 538
 Steady 0
2004 David Cobb Pat LaMarche 119,859 0.10
0 / 538
 Steady 0
2008 Cynthia McKinney Rosa Clemente 161,680 0.12
0 / 538
 Steady 0
2012 Jill Stein Cheri Honkala 469,627[51] 0.36
0 / 538
 Steady 0
2016 Jill Stein Ajamu Baraka 1,457,216[52] 1.07
0 / 538
 Steady 0

Congress

House of Representatives

Election year # of overall votes % of overall vote # of overall seats won +/-
1992 134,072 0.14
0 / 435
1994 52,096 0.07
0 / 435
1996 42,510 0.05
0 / 435
1998 70,932 0.11
0 / 435
2000 260,087 0.26
0 / 435
2002 297,187 0.40
0 / 435
2004 344,549 0.30
0 / 435
2006 243,391 0.29
0 / 435
2008 580,263 0.47
0 / 435
2010 252,688 0.29
0 / 435
2012 372,996 0.30
0 / 435
2014 246,567 0.30
0 / 435
2016 515,263[53] 0.42?
0 / 435

Senate

Election year # of overall votes % of overall vote # of overall seats won +/-
2000 685,289 0.90
0 / 34
2002 94,702 0.20
0 / 34
2004 157,671 0.20
0 / 34
2006 295,935 0.50
0 / 33
2008 427,427 0.70
0 / 33
2010 516,517 0.80
0 / 37
2012 212,103 0.20
0 / 33
2014 152,555 0.32
0 / 33
2016 695,604[54] 0.97?
0 / 33

Fundraising and position on Super PACs

In the early decades of Green organizing in the United States, the prevailing U.S. system of money-dominated elections was universally rejected by Greens, so that some Greens were reluctant to have Greens participate in the election system at all, because they deemed the campaign finance system inherently corrupt. Other Greens felt strongly that the Green Party should develop in the electoral arena; many of these Greens felt that adopting an alternative model of campaign finance, emphasizing self-imposed contribution limits, would present a wholesome and attractive contrast to the odious campaign finance practices of the money-dominated major parties.

Over the years, some state Green parties have come to place less emphasis on the principle of self-imposed limits than they did in the past. Nevertheless, it is safe to say that Green Party fundraising (for candidates' campaigns and for the party itself) still tends to rely on relatively small contributions, and that Greens generally decry not only the rise of the Super PACs, but also the big-money system, which some Greens criticize as plutocracy.

Some Greens feel that the Green Party's position should be simply to follow the laws and regulations of campaign finance.[55] Other Greens argue that it would injure the Green Party not to practice a principled stand against the anti-democratic influence of money in the political process.

Candidates for office, like Jill Stein, the 2012 and 2016 Green Party nominee for the President of the United States, typically rely on smaller donations to fund their campaigns.[56]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Winger, Richard (27 July 2017). "New Registration Data for the United States". ballot-access.org. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Green Party of the United States – National Committee Voting – Proposal Details". Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  3. ↑ "We will build an economy based on large-scale green public works, municipalization, and workplace and community democracy"
  4. ↑ ""Green Party Ten key values"".
  5. ↑ ""Green Party Ten key values"".
  6. ↑ "Presidential Hopefuls Meet in Third Party Debate|PBS NewsHour". PBS. 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  7. ↑ Resnikoff, Ned (2015-06-23). "Green Party's Jill Stein Running for President | Al Jazeera America". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  8. ↑ "Officeholders". The Green Party of the United States. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  9. ↑ "Green Party". ballotpedia.org. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
  10. ↑ "AOR 2011-13: ADVISORY OPINION REQUEST (AOR) SEEKING RECOGNITION OF THE COORDINATING COMMITTEE OF THE GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES AS THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE GREEN PARTY" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 2016-09-05.
  11. ↑ "ADVISORY OPINION 2001-13" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 2016-09-05.
  12. ↑ "COORDINATING COMMITTEE FOR THE GREENS/GREEN PARTY USA NATIONAL COMMITTEE GOVERNING BODY OF THE "GREEN PARTY", GREENS/GREEN PARTY USA" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 2016-09-05.
  13. ↑ "THE 2000 ELECTIONS: THE GREEN PARTY; Angry Democrats, Fearing Nader Cost Them Presidential Race, Threaten to Retaliate". The New York Times. 2000-11-09. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  14. ↑ Nader, Ralph (2016-06-02). "Ralph Nader: I was not a ‘spoiler’ in 2000. Jill Stein doesn’t deserve that insulting label, either". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
  15. ↑ Moser, Richard (2016-06-06). "The Myth of the Spoiler: Why the Machine Elites Fear Democracy". CounterPunch. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
  16. ↑ Jodean Marks (1997). "A Historical Look at Green Structure: 1984 to 1992". Synthesis/Regeneration. 14. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  17. ↑ Petra Kelly (2002). "On Morality and Human Dignity (excerpts)". Synthesis/Regeneration. 28. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  18. ↑ Winger, Richard. "Green Party Nominee for U.S. House in Arizona Sets a New Record for Green Candidates for Congress - Ballot Access News".
  19. ↑ "Green Party – 10 Key Values". gp.org. 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
  20. ↑ Herel, Suzanne. "Multimedia (image)". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 15, 2005. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  21. ↑ "The Avocado Declaration, a statement by Peter Camejo and the Avocado Education Project". cagreens.org. Retrieved 2016-02-12.
  22. ↑ "Why Register as a Green – Green Party Website". Green Party. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  23. ↑ "The Green Senatorial Campaign Committee". Greenscc.org. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  24. ↑ Grigsby, Karen (2010-10-21). "Green Party Black Caucus Journal". Gpblackcaucus.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  25. ↑ "Latino Caucus of The Green Party of the United States". gp.org. 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
  26. ↑ "Lavender Green Caucus". Lavendergreens.us. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  27. ↑ "National Women's Caucus : Green Party". Greens.org. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  28. ↑ "About | Young Greens". ygus.org. 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
  29. ↑ "Disability Caucus of the USGP". Immuneweb.org. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  30. ↑ "Green Labor Network". Green Party of The United States. Archived from the original on 2012-06-15.
  31. ↑ "2010 Election Database | Green Party of the United States Candidates for Office". Greens.org. Archived from the original on 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
  32. ↑ "Maine Green Registration Rises Again". Ballot Access News. 2007-03-26. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  33. ↑ "Green Party Ballot Status and Voter Registration Totals (United States)". Green Party of California. May 2005. Archived from the original on 2008-05-26. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  34. ↑ "Green Party – State Parties". gp.org. 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
  35. ↑ "THE GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS | Leading The US Virgin Islands Toward A Green Tomorrow!". Votegreenvi.com. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  36. 1 2 "Officeholders". Green Party of the United States. Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  37. ↑ "Sole Green Party Legislator Makes Switch". RAND California Policy Bulletin. 1999-10-18. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  38. ↑ "Ca 2000 Election Night Returns" (PDF). The Capital Connection. 2000-11-08. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  39. ↑ "Nation's highest-ranking Green switching parties". San Francisco Chronicle. 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  40. ↑ Hardy, Ronald. "Fred Smith Elected to Arkansas State House on Green Party Ticket". Green Party Watch. Retrieved 2013-10-29.
  41. ↑ Richard Winger (February 26, 2014). "Arkansas Representative Fred Smith, Elected as a Green Party Nominee in 2012, Files for Re-Election as a Democrat". Ballot Access News. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  42. ↑ Hardy, Ronald. "Maine Greens Elect Three; Plus Independent to State Assembly". Green Party Watch. Retrieved 2013-10-29.
  43. ↑ "Official Results of the 2006 Municipal Election Held on November 7, 2006". Richmond City Clerk's Office. 2012-01-25. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
  44. ↑ "Results of 2010 midterm elections are mixed bag for Mayor Bloomberg". Daily News. New York. 2010-11-07. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
  45. ↑ "Most Greens holding elected office at the same time on a single legislative body". Green Party of the United States. 2012-09-12. Archived from the original on 2012-09-16. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
  46. ↑ "Ballot Access". gp.org. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  47. ↑ "Four Statewide Petitions Filed in Pennsylvania - Ballot Access News". ballot-access.org. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  48. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "As of August 1". ivn.us. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  49. ↑ "Green Party Missouri Petition Approved | Ballot Access News". Ballot-access.org. 2016-08-23. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
  50. ↑ "Rhode Island Secretary of State Says Three Independent Presidential Petitions Have Enough Valid Signatures - Ballot Access News". ballot-access.org. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  51. ↑ "ELECTION RESULTS FOR THE U.S. PRESIDENT, THE U.S. SENATE AND THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  52. ↑ "OFFICIAL 2016 PRESIDENTIAL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  53. ↑ "U.S. House National Totals by Party, 2016 | Ballot Access News". Ballot-access.org. 2016-12-25. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
  54. ↑ "Democrats Outpoll Republicans in U.S. Senate Races by 10,512,669 Votes, but Republicans Win 22 of the 34 Seats | Ballot Access News". Ballot-access.org. 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
  55. ↑ Joe Garecht (2011-12-08). "7 Creative Political Fundraising Ideas". Localvictory.com. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  56. ↑ "Long Shots | Colleen Becker". The Huffington Post. 2012-02-09. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
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